Container with dispensing opening and a spout reversibly connectable to said opening



y 3, 1962 J. w. ANDERSON 3,042,272

I CONTAINER WITH DISPENSING OPENING AND A SPOUT REVERSIBLY CONNECTABLET0 SAID OPENING Original Filed June 19, 1957 INVENTORf JOHN W ANDERSONATTORNEY United States Patent CONTAINER WITH DISPENSING OPENING AND ASPOUT REVERSIBLY CONNECTABLE T0 SAID OPENING John W. Anderson, 578Broadway, Gary, Ind.

Continuation of application Ser. No. 666,691, June 19,

1957. This application June 24, 1959, Ser. No. 822,477

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-539) This invention relates to dispensers, and moreparticularly relates to sealing and storing a reversible dispensingspout in and on a container.

This application is a continuation of my copending application SerialNo. 666,691 filed June 19, 1957, and now abandoned.

One of the current trends in the design and construction of containersfor storing and dispensing materials, such as powdered or granulatedsoaps and the like, is to use a spout in the container outlet which willdirect the material in the appointed direction. In an effort to conservespace during storage of the container and still facilitate quick andeasy conditioning of the container for dispensing use, many differentretractable, collapsible and removable pouring spouts have been designedand patented. One such device is shown in my copending US. application,Serial No. 632,684, filed January 7, 1957, and now abandoned, wherein -aremovable spout is positioned within the container during storage andshipment and is removed and reversed when ready for use. The presentinvention constitutes an important and significant development in theart of efficiently sealing a container and spout during storage andshipment, including the feature of using the sealing means to withdrawthe spout from the container prior to attachment for dispensingpurposes.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide animproved sealing device for a dispensing container that will preventboth the egress of materials from the container and the ingress ofmoisture into the container.

It is a further important object of this invention to provide animproved container having a sealing device applied by the manufactureror packer for initially sealing the container and adapted to be tornfrom the container to remove the spout-from the stored condition.

It is another object of this invention to provide a reversible spout fora container that may be stored within the container in such a way thatseveral containers can be easily stacked during storage and shipment.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a sealingdevice for a container that serves as a lifting tab-for the stored spoutof the container.

And a still further object of this invention is to provide a sealingdevice for a container that can be applied and removed in an expeditiousmanner, is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and apply,and extremely efficient in operation, use and service.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description of the same proceeds, and the invention willbe best understood from a consideration of the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing formingpart of this specification, with the understanding, however, that theinvention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing ofthe drawing, but may be changed or modified so long as such changes ormodifications make no material departure from the salient features ofthe invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a dispensing con- 3,042,272 PatentedJuly 3, 1962 tainer with the sealing device, made according to myinvention, in position for storage and shipment;

FIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE1 with the sealing device and spout disposed in the container;

FIGURE 3 is a partial perspective view of the top of the container ofFIGURE 1 with the sealing device partially removed;

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial perspective view of FIGURE 1 with the sealingdevice removed and the spout partially removed from the container;

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE5; and

FIGURE 7 is a partial perspective view of my invention with the sealingdevice removed from the spout and the spout in position to be attachedto the container.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which similar referencecharacters identify similar parts in the several views, the numeral 10indicates a container having a top or end wall 12 formed of thin,relatively stiff sheet material, such as sheet metal, plastic or thelike. The wall 12 has an upwardly projecting head 14 formed around theperipheral edge portion thereof which is adapted to be engaged with andto be secured to the upper edge of the container side wall 16. Theheight of the bead 14 provides a means for establishing a space betweenthe plane of the top surface of the wall 12 and a plane lying tangent tothe upper edge of the bead 14.

A spout 17 is adapted to be affixed to the'wall 12 and tor this purposethe wall 12 is formed with a recessed or depressed portion 18 which inthe illustrated form is circular in shape and is located substantiallycentrally of said top wall 12. The recessed portion 13 has a circularaperture 20 passing through the central portion thereof which is adaptedto permit the egress of powdered or granulated material such as a soapproduct from the inner confines of the container. Cut from this recessedportion 18 are a plurality of equally spaced radially directed notches24 which extend from the aperture 20 to a region located generally atthe base of the wall 26 forming the side of the recessed portion 18.Between each pair of notches 24 is a segment 28 of the recessed portion18 which segment has a downwardly struck stop member 30 formedsubstantially midway between the adjoining notches 24.

Removable spout 17 is composed of a body portion 38 shaped like thefrustrurn of a right circular cone and has a flange portion 40 extendingradially outwardly from the large end portion of said body 38. Theflange portion 40 has a plurality of equally spaced radially outwardlydirected tongue-like elements 42 struck therefrom. Each tongue-likeelement 42 has its radial edge portion 44 offset downwardly from thenormal plane of the flange portion such that the tongue-like elements 42are formed to have an arc shape in cross section.

To assembly the spout 17 onto the container 10 in a position ready foruse, the tongue-like elements 42 are aligned with and dropped throughthe notches 24 whereupon turning of the spout relative to the containerin either a clockwise or counterclockwise manner will cam the elements42 under the segments 28 of the recessed portion 18 until they engagethe stops 30, whereby the spout will be assembled on the container.

The distance between the plane of the top surface of the wall 12 and theplane of the recessed portion 18 is substantially equal to the distancebetween the plane of the lower surface of the flanged skirt portion 40and the plane passing through the extended edge portions 44 of thetongue-like elements 42 so that when the spout is placed in the invertedposition with the flange 40 overlying the recessed portion 28, the edges44 of the spout will lie substantially in the plane of the top surfaceof the top 12.

To seal the spout and the container for shipment purposes, a flexiblesealing tab 46 is attached to the top surface of the top 12 within theconfines of the bead 14. The specific sealing tab 46 contemplated bythis invention is to be substantially circular in shape and of adiameter slightly less than the diameter of the top 12, although it isconsidered to be within the scope of this invention to have any size orshape sealing tab that is capable of accomplishing the function ofsealing the container and assisting in the removal of the spout fromstored position. The sealing tab 46 may have any type of adhesivecarried by the contacting surface thereof such that engagement of thesealing tab 46 with the top of the container will securely fasten thetab 46 to the container. It is preferred that the adhesive on the tab 46be of the permanently adhesive pressure type such as is generally usedon so called masking tape, whereupon no heat, chemicals, moisture orexcessive pressure is required to attach the tab to the container and noresidue of the adhesive will remain on the top 12 after the sealing tab46 has been removed.

With the body portion 38 of the spout 17 inverted into the containerthrough the opening 20 and with the flange positioned on the recessedportion 18, a sealing tab 46 can be spread over the top 12 of thecontainer to seal the spout 17 inside the container, as best shown inFIGURES 1 and 2. The adhesive on the tab 38 will grip the top 12 to holdthe tab on the container and will likewise grip the underside of thetongue-like elements 42 to, among other things, hold the spout 17 instored position in the container. 7 The tab 46 also serves as a veryeffective seal for not only preventing loss of the contents of thecontainer but also in preventing moisture from entering or leaving thecontainer so that the contents will not become soggy in one instance anddried out in the other instance. The containers can be stacked one ontop of the other without any interference from the dispensing spout andwithout any leaking or spilling of the contents of the container.Appropriate advertising material, as well as instructions for removingthe spout and operating the dispensing container, can be printed uponthe exposed surface of the tab 46 in an obvious manner.

To place the dispensing container in operating condition, it isnecessary to lift the tab 46 with one hand along one edge portion, suchas shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, whereupon further lifting eflort relativeto the container will lift the tab 46 from the top 12 of the containerand remove the spout 17 from its stored position, such as shown inFIGURES 5 and 6. Grasping the body 38 of the spout 17 with the otherhand and pulling relative to the tab 46 will remove the spout 17therefrom, whereupon it will be an easy step to assemble the spout onthe container as shown in FIGURE 7 and as covered by my copendingapplication Serial No. 632,684, filed January 7, 1957, and nowabandoned. The tab 46 can then be discarded.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction andoperation, as well as the advantages of the present invention, will bereadily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art. It willbe apparent that the invention may be conveniently and economicallymanufactured and assembled, and is highly efllcient in use.

I claim:

1. A dispensing container for powder, granular material and the like,said container having at least one generally flat wall of sheetmaterial, said wall being formed with a shallow depression having a flatbottom, said bottom being provided with a circular aperture, the edgeportion defining said aperture being provided with a plurality ofradially extending notches providing arcuate segmental ledgestherebetween for supporting the base of a spout,

the central portion of each of said ledges being struck downwardly toprovide stops, a spout having a flange at the base end thereof, and aplurality of lugs struck from said flange in spaced relation matchingthe notches in said bottom, the end portions of said lugs being bent tolie in a plane beyond and parallel to that defined by said flange andspaced from said flange a distance equal to the thickness of said wall,the discharge end of said spout extending through said aperture into thecontents of the container with its flange resting upon said segmentalledges, and a tab of flexible material having on one face a pressure-Sensitive, permanently adhesive coating, said tab overlying saiddepression and part of said wall and being stuck to said wall and saidlugs of said spout, and being peelable from said parts for removal andreversal of said spout. with its lugs engageable under the end portionsof said ledges for retaining the flange of the spout against saidledges.

2. A dispensing container having at least one flat wall portion, saidflat Wall portion being formed with a depressed portion having a flatbottom defining a recess, said fiat bottom being formed with anaperture, the edge of said aperture being formed with spaced notchesdefining a plurality of fastener portions, a spout formed with a flangeat its base and having tongue elements spaced axially from andsubstantially parallel with the flange defining a space therebetween,said spout extending through said aperture into said container with itsflange resting upon said fastener portions whereupon said tongueelements lie substantially flush with the one flat Wall portion, and asealing tab of flexible material coated on one side with apressure-sensitive adhesive stuck to the tongue elements and stuck tothe Wall surrounding the depression and sealing the recess wherebyremoval of the sealing tab from the wall withdraws the spout, said spoutbeing reversible wherein said tongues are insertable through the notchesfor cooperatively engaging the fastener portions of said bottom forsecuring the spout to said flat bottom wall with its discharge endprojecting from the container for discharge of material from saidcontainer through said spout.

3. A dispensing container having at least one flat wall portion, saidflat wall portion being formed with a depressed portion forming a recesshaving a flat bottom, said flat bottom being formed With an aperture,said aperture having an edge portion formed with spaced notches defininga plurality of fastener portions, a spout having a base formed with aflange, said base having tongue means axially spaced from andsubstantially parallel with the flange defining a space therebetween,said spout removably disposed through the aperture and extendinginwardly into the container with the flange resting on the fastenerportions, a tab element having an adhesive surface sealed to the wallsurrounding the depressed portion and sealing the recess and having aportion sealed to the basewhereby removal of the tab from the wallWithdraws the spout, said spout being reversible wherein the notchescarried by the edge portion permit entry of the tongues and are arrangedto permit turning of the spout with relation to the container to effectrelative interlocking therebetween with the spout outwardly extending.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS383,840 Vogel May 29, 1888 898,821 Beatty Sept. 15, 1908 970,318 FrenchSept. 13, 1910 1,073,391 Booth Sept. 16, 1913 1,600,350 Mensik Sept. 21,1928 1,859,008 Stamer May 17, 1932 2,065,603 Miller Dec. 29, 19362,545,178 Vaughn Mar. 13, 1951 2,776,787 Nicol Ian. 8, 1957 2,894,666Campbell July 14, 1959

